Don’t be a Hypocritical Christian

Regarding looking good in the church and being hypocritical, Galatians 5:26 says, “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” The Amplified Bible breaks this verse down further by saying, “Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.” I interpret this as meaning that a church member should not think that they are better than other church members. They shouldn’t judge someone by what kind of clothes they wear or what kind of car they drive.

Public worship is not about competition. It is not a popularity contest to determine who is the best Christian. Christianity is about uplifting and loving one another, not trying to be better than someone else. Eventually, being self-conceited, competitive, and challenging will cause you to provoke and irritate others around you, which will kindle anger and jealously in people around you.

Instead, we should humble ourselves among our fellow worshipers. In 1 Peter 5:6, it says “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” Peter also said that God gives grace to the humble. So, when we worship in public, we should be kind and loving to our fellow Christians. We should speak and greet each other, and if we see something wrong with a fellow Christian, we should address that person directly about the issue.

Something wrong does not mean the type of clothes they wear or what kind of house they live in; wrong means something like spousal abuse or someone having trouble providing for their family. If they are true Christian, they would appreciate another person’s advice and help like they claim to appreciate God’s word.

You can never claim to be a good Christian by talking about other people’s predicaments and short-comings. You become a good Christian by reaching out and helping them through their situation.